Picture this: You’re working 70-hour weeks, putting out fires left and right, and despite your best efforts, your business feels like it’s running you instead of the other way around. Your team seems misaligned, important initiatives keep stalling, and that vision you had when you started the company feels more distant than ever. If this sounds familiar, you’re experiencing exactly what Gino Wickman encountered in hundreds of businesses before writing “Traction.”
In “Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business,” entrepreneur and business consultant Gino Wickman presents a complete system for taking any entrepreneurial organization from wherever it is today to where you want it to be. Drawing from his experience helping more than 1,000 businesses implement what he calls the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), Wickman offers a practical, no-nonsense approach to running a business that actually works.
What makes “Traction” different from the countless other business books on the shelf? It’s not about theory or complex strategies that sound good in a boardroom but fall apart in reality. Instead, it’s a proven system of simple, practical tools that have been tested in the trenches of real businesses. Whether you’re running a $2 million company or a $200 million enterprise, the principles in “Traction” can help you gain control, grow faster, and actually enjoy the journey.
Understanding EOS and Where “Traction” Fits In
The Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) is a comprehensive business management system that integrates all the moving parts of a business to create a cohesive, self-sustaining organization. Think of it as an operating system for your entire company—just like Windows or iOS runs your devices, EOS runs your business. It provides a complete toolkit for clarifying your Vision, gaining Traction, and building a healthy, functional leadership team.
“Traction” serves as the definitive guide to implementing EOS in your organization. While other books in the EOS library focus on specific aspects like leadership roles or company culture, “Traction” provides the complete blueprint. It’s the foundational text that introduces all Six Key Components of the system and shows you exactly how to implement them in your business.
The beauty of EOS lies in its simplicity and universality. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or what size your company is—if you have between 10 and 250 employees and an entrepreneurial mindset, EOS can work for you. The system has been successfully implemented in everything from marketing agencies to manufacturing companies, from tech startups to traditional service businesses.
The Six Key Components of EOS
At the heart of “Traction” are the Six Key Components that make up the Entrepreneurial Operating System. Wickman discovered that every business, regardless of industry, has these six components. When they’re all strong and working together, you have a great business. When they’re weak or misaligned, you have frustration and stagnation.
1. Vision: Getting Everyone on the Same Page
The Vision Component is about getting your leadership team 100% on the same page with where the organization is going and how it’s going to get there. Most leadership teams think they’re aligned, but when pressed for specifics, they often discover they have different ideas about fundamental aspects of the business.
Wickman introduces eight questions that must be answered to clarify your vision:
- Core Values: What are the 3-7 timeless guiding principles that define your culture?
- Core Focus: What is your organization’s “sweet spot”—the thing you do better than anyone else?
- 10-Year Target: Where do you want your organization to be in 10 years?
- Marketing Strategy: Who is your ideal customer and what makes you unique?
- 3-Year Picture: What does your organization look like three years from now?
- 1-Year Plan: What must be accomplished in the next 12 months?
- Quarterly Rocks: What are the 3-7 most important priorities for the next 90 days?
- Issues: What obstacles could prevent you from achieving your vision?
The Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO) is the tool that captures all these answers on just two pages. This becomes your organization’s blueprint, ensuring everyone is rowing in the same direction.
2. People: Right People, Right Seats
You can’t build a great company without great people. The People Component ensures you have the right people in the right seats. Wickman introduces two essential tools for achieving this:
The People Analyzer helps you evaluate whether someone is the right person for your organization by measuring them against your Core Values. Using a simple rating system (plus, plus/minus, or minus), you can objectively assess cultural fit.
The Accountability Chart (not an organizational chart) defines the right structure for your organization. Instead of showing who reports to whom, it clarifies who is accountable for what. Each seat on the chart has five defined roles or accountabilities, and each person must “GWC” their seat:
- Get it: They understand the role intellectually and emotionally
- Want it: They genuinely want to do this job
- Capacity: They have the time, skills, and ability to do it well
3. Data: Managing by Numbers
The Data Component brings objectivity to managing your business. Instead of relying on feelings, opinions, or anecdotal evidence, you manage through a handful of numbers that give you an absolute pulse on your business.
The Scorecard is a weekly report containing 5-15 high-level numbers that, at a glance, tell you how your business is performing. Unlike traditional financial statements that look backward, the Scorecard includes leading indicators that help you spot trends and problems before they become serious.
Each number on the Scorecard has:
- A specific measurable
- A goal for that measurable
- The person accountable for that number
- Weekly tracking to spot trends
Measurables cascade throughout the organization. Everyone in the company should have at least one number they’re accountable for that contributes to the company’s success.
4. Issues: Solving Problems Once and For All
Every organization has issues—the key is how quickly and effectively you solve them. The Issues Component provides a systematic way to identify, discuss, and solve problems at their root.
The Issues List is a simple but powerful tool. Instead of letting problems fester or discussing them endlessly without resolution, you maintain a list of all issues at the company level, departmental level, and individual level. During meetings, you prioritize the top three issues and solve them using the IDS process:
- Identify: Get to the root cause of the issue
- Discuss: Talk about it openly and honestly
- Solve: Determine the action steps to resolve it forever
Wickman emphasizes that most leadership teams don’t take the time to properly identify issues before jumping to solutions. By slowing down and getting to the root cause, you solve problems once instead of treating symptoms repeatedly.
5. Process: Systemizing Your Business
The Process Component is about getting everyone on the same page with how things are done in your organization. Most companies have processes, but they’re often inconsistent, undocumented, or exist only in certain people’s heads.
EOS uses a three-step process documentation approach:
- Identify your core processes: Most organizations have 5-15 core processes that make the business run
- Document each process: Create simple, visual documentation of the 20% that produces 80% of the results
- Package them: Compile all core processes in one accessible place
The goal isn’t to document every tiny detail but to capture the essential steps that ensure consistency and quality. When everyone follows the same core processes, you reduce errors, improve training, and scale more effectively.
6. Traction: Bringing Your Vision to Life
The Traction Component is where the rubber meets the road. It’s about instilling focus, discipline, and accountability throughout the organization so that everyone executes on the vision every day.
Two tools drive the Traction Component:
Rocks are the 3-7 most important priorities that must be accomplished in the next 90 days. By limiting priorities and working in 90-day cycles, you maintain laser focus and build momentum. Everyone in the organization should have Rocks that align with and support the Company Rocks.
The Meeting Pulse ensures effective communication and problem-solving at every level. EOS prescribes specific meeting rhythms:
- Quarterly meetings: Two-day off-site sessions to establish Rocks and solve major issues
- Weekly Level 10 Meetings: 90-minute meetings with a specific agenda that keeps everyone aligned and solving issues
- Daily huddles: Quick stand-ups to sync on priorities and identify obstacles
Implementation Insights: Making EOS Work in Your Organization
While the concepts in “Traction” are simple, implementing them requires commitment and discipline. Here are key insights for successful implementation:
Start with Leadership Team Buy-In
EOS must start at the top. Your entire leadership team needs to be fully committed to the system. Wickman recommends that if you can’t get 100% buy-in from your leadership team, you’re better off not starting. Half-hearted implementation leads to frustration and failure.
Implement One Component at a Time
While all six components work together, trying to implement everything at once is overwhelming. Most organizations start with Vision and People, then add components quarterly. The typical full implementation takes 12-18 months.
Expect Resistance
Change is hard, and some people will resist the structure and accountability that EOS brings. This is normal and often reveals underlying issues that need to be addressed. Some team members may ultimately not be the right fit for an organization running on EOS.
Stay Disciplined with the Tools
The tools in EOS are simple, but they require discipline to use consistently. The weekly Level 10 Meeting, for example, must happen every week without exception. The moment you start making exceptions, the system begins to break down.
Focus on Root Causes
One of the biggest mindset shifts in EOS is learning to identify and solve root causes rather than symptoms. This requires slowing down in meetings, asking “why” multiple times, and being willing to have uncomfortable conversations.
Leveraging Technology for EOS Implementation
While EOS can be implemented with simple tools like spreadsheets and documents, modern software can significantly enhance and streamline the process. Technology helps maintain consistency, improves visibility across the organization, and ensures nothing falls through the cracks.
Key areas where software enhances EOS implementation include:
- Centralized Vision Documentation: Keeping your V/TO and other vision documents in one accessible place where everyone can reference them
- Rock Tracking: Monitoring progress on quarterly priorities across all levels of the organization
- Scorecard Automation: Automatically collecting and displaying key metrics without manual data entry
- Meeting Management: Running more effective Level 10 meetings with built-in agendas and issue tracking
- Accountability: Clear visibility into who owns what and how they’re performing
EOS One, the official software platform for EOS, is specifically designed to support all aspects of the Entrepreneurial Operating System. Built by EOS Implementers who deeply understand the methodology, it provides purpose-built tools for each of the Six Key Components. The platform helps organizations maintain discipline with the system while reducing the administrative burden of tracking everything manually.
What makes EOS One particularly valuable is that it’s not trying to be everything to everyone—it’s laser-focused on helping organizations implement and maintain EOS. This means features are designed specifically around EOS tools and terminology, making adoption more intuitive for teams already familiar with the concepts from “Traction.”
The software helps solve common implementation challenges such as keeping everyone aligned on Rocks across different departments, maintaining consistent meeting rhythms when team members are distributed, and ensuring Issues don’t get lost or forgotten between meetings. By digitizing the EOS tools, organizations can focus more on solving problems and executing their vision rather than managing spreadsheets and documents.
Practical Next Steps: Your 90-Day Action Plan
After reading “Traction,” here’s a practical roadmap for beginning your EOS journey:
Week 1-2: Assess Your Current State
- Take the Organizational Checkup (available at eosone.com) to benchmark where you are
- Have each leadership team member read “Traction.”
- Schedule a two-day off-site session to begin implementation
Week 3-4: Define Your Vision
- Work through the The 8 Questions of the V/TO with your leadership team
- Don’t rush this process—getting everyone truly aligned takes time
- Identify your company’s Core Values and Core Focus
Month 2: Build Your Accountability Chart
- Define the right structure for your organization
- Identify the 5 roles for each seat
- Assess whether you have the right people in the right seats
- Make the tough decisions about people who don’t fit
Month 3: Establish The Meeting Pulse
- Set your first Company Rocks (3-7 priorities for the quarter)
- Begin weekly Level 10 Meetings with your leadership team
- Create your first Scorecard with 5-15 key numbers
- Start building your Issues List
Ongoing: Build Momentum
- Cascade tools throughout the organization level by level
- Document your core processes
- Consider working with a Certified EOS Implementer for guidance
- Evaluate software solutions to support your implementation
Conclusion: From Chaos to Control
Remember that overwhelmed entrepreneur we started with—working endless hours, fighting fires, and feeling like the business is running them? “Traction” provides the antidote to that chaos. By implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System, you can transform your organization from a source of constant stress to a self-sustaining enterprise that actually works.
The journey isn’t always easy. It requires discipline, tough decisions, and a willingness to change how you’ve always done things. But thousands of businesses have proven that when you strengthen The Six Key Components—Vision, People, Data, Issues, Process, and Traction—something magical happens. The business begins to run itself. Problems get solved at their root. Everyone rows in the same direction. And perhaps most importantly, you get your life back.
Gino Wickman didn’t invent these concepts—he discovered them by observing what actually works in successful entrepreneurial companies. “Traction” simply packages these best practices into a complete system that any organization can implement. Whether you choose to do it yourself, work with an implementer, or leverage technology to support your journey, the key is to start. Pick up “Traction,” gather your leadership team, and take the first step toward gaining control of your business. Your future self—and your entire organization—will thank you.
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